Peripheral blood mononuclear cell

Infections Recent studies indicate that PBMCs may be susceptible to pathogenic infections, such as Ureaplasma parvum and U. urealyticum, Mycoplasma genitalium and M. hominis, and Chlamydia trachomatis infections. PBMCs may be also susceptible to viral infections. Indeed, footprints of JC polyomavirus and Merkel cell polyomavirus have been detected in PBMCs from pregnant women and women affected by spontaneous abortion. == Research uses ==

Many scientists conducting research in the fields of immunology (including autoimmune disorders), infectious disease, hematological malignancies, vaccine development, transplant immunology, and high-throughput screening are frequent users of PBMCs. In many cases, PBMCs are derived from blood banks. PBMC fraction also contains progenitor populations, as demonstrated by methylcellulose based colony forming assays. PBMCs have been thought to be an important route of vaccination. PBMCs from cancer patients can be extracted and cultured in vitro. Subsequently, PBMCs are challenged with tumor antigens such as tumor stem cell antigen. Inflammatory cytokines are usually added to aid in antigen uptake and recognition by PBMCs. ==References==